“I believe that birth is sacred and that midwifery provides a space for natural birth to unfold. My greatest personal journey has been that of becoming a midwife. Practicing midwifery is an invitation to profound community connection and a most intimate celebration. I am awed by the strength of the birthing body, the fierceness of our spirits and our deep capacity for love. The childbearing year, which includes menstruation, conception, pregnancy, birth and breastfeeding, is an incredible time of transformation and power. In this journey, I honor your experience by listening, guiding, witnessing and holding space.”
Katarra Shaw is a California Licensed Midwife, Certified Massage Practitioner and International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) who has been working with midwifery and botanical medicine for fifteen years. Her midwifery education includes a comprehensive academic and clinical training at Maternidad La Luz, a busy birth center in El Paso, Texas and attendance at many homebirths in California. She started attending births in 2009 and opened her own practice in Chico in 2013. Katarra’s massage training includes Maya Abdominal Therapy, Rolfing Structural Integration and CranioSacral Therapy. She has studied with Chico Therapy & Wellness Center, Jean Louise Green, Michael Turk, Debbie Pierce IBCLC, Cathy McLendon IBCLC, Theresa Watson IBCLC, Heartwood Institute, Dr. Rosita Arvigo, Dr. Aviva Romm, Gail Tully of Spinning Babies, herbalists Susun Weed, Matthew Wood, Lise Wolff, Upledger Institute, Barral Institute, Milne Institute, Rolf Guild for Structural Integration Carol Grey, Advanced Rolfers Jon Martine, Sharon Wheeler and John deMahy. Katarra is also faculty at Chico Massage School and teaches Yoga as a 200 hour RYT.
Her IBCLC Lactation education was completed through UC San Diego with a year long internship at Enloe Hospital Mother Baby Center working with local families. She has undergraduate degrees from Chico State in Music Performance, Audio Engineering, Spanish. Katarra continues to work closely and be mentored by teachers whom she calls Everyday Masters; local practitioners who are experts in their field and open to sharing their lifetime of knowledge and skills. When not attending births, she is a busy musician in Chico or working as a hospice volunteer. She was raised in a bilingual home on a farm in Glenn County between the Sacramento River and Stoney Creek.
Midwife Apprentices
I am fortunate to work with passionate and dedicated midwifery students. These amazing people accompany me to appointments and births and have incredible skills with communication, midwifery care and personal experience with homebirth. They are training to become midwives themselves and each are in different stages of their journey. I fully support the training and licensing of more midwives and it gives me much fulfillment to see them progress in their learning. I'm currently accepting applications to precept students already enrolled in midwifery school. Please send me a message to inquire further.
If you are interested in learning more about homebirth or other Luna Madre Midwifery services, please be in touch.
Phone: (530) 774-4430
Email: lunamadremidwifery@gmail.com